


GenderBender

by leiascully



Series: The FBI's Most Unwanted [16]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Episode Related, Gen, Pheromones, Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 08:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4257225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coercion like that was a criminal act, he wanted to tell her as they stumbled through the woods in silence, but he knew that she knew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	GenderBender

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: 1.13 "GenderBender"  
> A/N: Sometimes these episodes get creepier when I rewatch and really consider the consequences.   
> Disclaimer: _The X-Files_ and all related characters are the property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox Studios. No profit is made from this work and no infringement is intended.

It wasn't the first time he'd pulled a man off Scully. Mulder was sure it wouldn't be the last. Brother Andrew's methods might be different than Tooms', but the end result was the same: Scully, prone and pinned, without her weapon. Scully was dazed as he led her away from the house. He'd never seen that look on her face before: glazed-over hunger. The memory of the curve of her waist flickered through his mind. Mulder pushed it away. Brother Andrew hadn't taken things that far, fortunately. Mulder couldn't imagine coaxing an unclothed Scully in the throes of chemically-induced passion out of bed and back into her suit. He was sure she would have been furious with herself, misplacing the blame in her embarrassment. If Mulder ever saw her naked (not that he'd thought much about it, of course, after his first momentary misinterpretation in Oregon), it would be on her own terms. 

It was a relief and not a relief when she was sick. The other victims had died retching, foam crusting their lips. After Scully had finished throwing up, Mulder helped her stand. He smoothed her hair away from her face and gazed into her eyes as if he knew what he was doing. Her pupils were the same size, at least; they were dilated, but it was dark, and she'd lost that dreamy look. 

"I'm fine," she said in a voice that was still shaky, pulling away. "Let's get out of here."

Coercion like that was a criminal act, he wanted to tell her as they stumbled through the woods in silence, but he knew that she knew. Of course she knew. No woman in law enforcement was unaware of the methods or the statistics of assault. We could arrest him right now, he wanted to tell her, but he could hear the argument already. _On what grounds, Mulder? Seduction by subterfuge? Felony pheromones?_ She would diminish herself until she had convinced herself it was no crime worth reporting, which meant no crime at all, which meant she had never been harmed and they never needed to speak about it again. He couldn't watch her do that to herself. He put the car in drive and whisked her away from the Kindred, with their strange ways and their dangerous hands. 

She was small. No matter how solidly she planted her feet, she would always be small. Scully could shut down a snide agent with a look and she was a better shot than he was, but there would always be some horrors that had the advantage of her. Giving her the space to defend herself was all he could do and still leave her with her dignity. He couldn't position himself between her and the world. She couldn't do her job from his shadow, no matter how fiercely he wanted to protect her. Trusting her meant trusting the immensity of her spirit and determination. Scully stood five foot two in her silk sock feet, but her courage towered. He trusted the size and the strength of her heart. 

He bought her coffee and kept her talking in the car until she looked like herself again. She had told him when her father died that she needed to work. Mulder understood that. They led each other through the case like a labyrinth, and the process brought them back to themselves. Scully working was the agent, not the victim. Justice was a soothing balm, even if it didn't heal all wounds. They drove on, deeper into the mystery.


End file.
